HMS Endeavor, Mission Clock at 17:00
Dusk

In the short time it took for Endeavor to execute a successful micro jump, Archer came down to join me in the hangar. “Do we even know who took the shuttle?” Archer asked.

“I would assume that Colonel Young must know, but he didn’t tell me”, I said to the mare. “When you met him, did you run into anyone that screamed ‘I’m gonna steal a ship’?”

“Even if I did, I don’t know the crew at all.”

I didn’t say anything. At this point anyone could be on the shuttle, and whatever the reason the pilot had it likely wasn’t good. “Dusk, Archer, stand by. The shuttle is coming right to you!” Amore wasn’t wrong, as the shuttle swept into the hangar through the shield before skidding to a halt on its landing skids.

Archer ended up taking the lead, beating me to the rear hatch and hitting the release. Once it slid open she hopped up into the craft without any hesitation. “Rush?” I heard her say.

I managed to get into the craft and saw Archer staring at an older human, standing by the pilot’s station with a gun in his hand. “Archer… I take it that Colonel Young asked you to come find me?”

“He actually asked me”, I said, cutting Archer off. “Rush, right?” The human nodded while tightening his grip on is pistol. “Look, Young asked for my help because I’m technically the boss around here.”

“Are you kidding me?” Archer muttered.

I simply pointed at Archer before turning my attention back to Rush. “Obviously something is wrong. You stole a ship and you seem to be trying to crush that gun of yours… What’s wrong?”

Rush cracked a smile and silently chuckled. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me”, I spat right back.

Rush shrugged and leaned against the back of the pilot’s chair. “The Destiny was launched with a mission. Its creators found some sort of structure in the cosmic background radiation, and as a result it and a number of other ships were sent out across the stars in order to learn. Since we came aboard I discovered what the ship’s purpose was… And that mission of discovery became my life’s work. Now let me ask you something Dusk, how long has it been since we last contacted Earth?”

The answer came rather easily, considering General O’Neill had discussed it with me. “Like what, five years?” I offered.

“Maybe for them”, Rush replied. “But for us, it was closer to five hundred years. We were in stasis the whole time, all while Destiny kept going along its course until we crossed over into the void six months ago according to the ship’s logs. We were just lucky that we encountered the Endeavor when we did, otherwise we’d all still be drifting.”

“But that would mean that there’s a second Destiny out there.” I said, recognizing the ramifications of what Rush was saying.

“Exactly. And you know what the ship learned over those centuries?” Rush asked. I didn’t get the chance to respond as he shook his head. “That there’s nothing there. All of that time, everyone we lost, and there’s nothing to show for it.”

“You’ve got an alien starship, don’t you?” I asked in return. “You mean to tell me that you can’t learn from just what’s on Destiny? To get across the universe would take millions of years, and from what I understand the Destiny is just that old. There has to be something there.”

“Not with all of the hell I’ve caused!” Rush spat back at me. “We lost a lot of people… I was more concerned with Destiny’s mission while the rest of them wanted to go home. Its honestly been a waste, both in lives and time… And all of that is on me.”

While I noticed a flash of light out of the corner of my eye, I paid it no mind. “So what was this supposed to do Rush? Flying this bucket into a star doesn’t bring back anyone who died, and it doesn’t give you back time. All that you’re showing is some serious weakness.”

As two other pairs of footfalls made themselves known on the shuttle deckplate, Rush seemed to recognize who had joined us. “Well Colonel, I doubt that you have a problem with where I’m going.”

“I don’t even know what this is about Rush.” Said the now familiar voice of Colonel Young. “Just put the gun down…”

“Sorry Colonel, but not today.” As Rush’s arm moved up he cocked the hammer back on his pistol and stuck it right to the side of his head.

“No, Rush-”

BANG!

As Rush crumpled to the ground, I felt an unusual sensation, something that I’d describe as tingling. As a female human brushed past me and slid down next to Rush’s body, I turned to look at Colonel Young. He looked shocked, and understandably so considering what he had just witnessed. But once he noticed me looking at him his gaze turned to me, and morphed from shock to confusion. “Is something wrong Colonel?”

“Colonel, there’s nothing wrong with Rush”, I heard the woman call out. “Just a lump from where the pistol was…”

I turned around, noticing that Archer was staring at me now, and saw the gun on the deck. It took all of two steps for me to reach it, and as I knelt down to pick it up I could already see a problem. The end of the pistol had bulged and split apart, almost as if something had blocked the pistol’s barrel. “Have any of you ever seen something quite like this?” I asked as I turned around and held the gun up. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that the woman was staring at me as well, and both Young and Archer seemed to have their gazes fixed on me. “Uh… What’s wrong?”

Archer simply pointed at me. “Your eyes…” She muttered.

“My eyes?” I wondered aloud. “What do you-” The woman off to the side tapped me on the shoulder before handing me a small mirror out of her medical bag. I looked down and at first what I was seeing didn’t register. But after a double-take I could see what has everyone spooked. My eyes were glowing a pale gold. As I looked back down at the pistol and back to the mirror in my other hand a theory began to develop. Looking over at Rush, who was clearly just unconscious at this point as opposed to dead, was all the evidence that I needed to see. “Son of a bitch… Archer, I think I can use my magic again.”

***

Endeavor Infirmary, Half an Hour Later

It took a few minutes to really get a handle on Rush’s suicide attempt. Obviously it had failed, but through that I learned something rather important. Just because my horn had been snapped off, I could still use my own innate magic. To say that it was a welcome surprise is an understatement, especially considering that I hadn’t had any luck in my attempts to reconnect with my unicorn-specific abilities for months.

In the intervening time since we moved Rush to the Endeavor’s infirmary I managed to ‘shut off’ my magic, at least outwardly. The whole ‘glowing eyes’ thing seemed to be an indicator that my magic was working as it should. All it took was properly directed focus to manipulate it. Lucky for me, the same old magical basics that I picked up as a child still worked as they were meant to. But experimenting and getting used to my magic again would have to wait due to more pressing concerns.

“Dusk?” I heard Archer say. “Are you alright?”

I shook off the fog and nodded. “I’m just thinking Archer… But yes, I’m fine.”

We were standing out in the hall, having given Young’s medic the space to examine Rush in light of his episode. Off to my right the door slid open and the Colonel stuck his head out. “TJ’s all set. Come on in.”

Rush had been laid out on the bed only a few feet away from the door, specifically at Archer’s suggestion should someone out in the hall needed to come running. Rush must have woken up after we brought him up to the Infirmary, because he was sitting up in bed staring at the wall opposite of him. “How are you feeling Rush?” I asked.

“Well I do have a decent headache… Something that I believe I can thank you for”, the scientist replied.

“In all honesty I didn’t think I still had it in me”, I admitted, thinking back to the spell I used on Rush’s pistol. “So what happens now?”

“I don’t know for certain, but I’d assume some sort of psychiatric facility”, Rush said, glaring at Colonel Young while he said it.

“And just what am I supposed to do Rush?” Young asked. “You tried to kill yourself-”

“Oh, like you care!” Rush spat.

“You’re still my responsibility!” Young yelled back. “All things considered I wouldn’t be doing my job if I left you to your own devices.”

Hearing that drew something of an epiphany. “What if he came with me?”

Young heard that and turned around looking like he had heard a rather stupid suggestion. “What?” He asked.

“I said what if he came with me”, I repeated. “Look, you’re concerned that he can’t be left alone. But is throwing him in a mental hospital going to do anything for him? With all of the hell down on Earth right now, do you really want Rush out in the public sphere where he could theoretically start a riot with what he knows? He needs a structured environment, and I think I can give Rush just that.”

Listening to what I said must have gotten the Colonel thinking, because he no longer looked like he had been insulted. He seemed to be thinking, and considering the circumstances that seemed like a good thing. “I think I need to leave that up to Rush.”

I nodded and stepped over to the door panel. “In that case I think we need some privacy”, I said as I hit the door button.

Young and his medic didn’t say anything as they stepped out into the hall, but I did get a look from Archer that screamed ‘you better know what you’re doing’. After she passed through I hit the button again and the door slid shut. “Why do you want me to come with you?” Rush asked.

I took the opportunity to step away from the door and sat down at the end of the bed that Rush was on. “Because I’ve been where you are before. Lost, feeling like you don’t have a purpose and that nothing is worth it. That road you’re walking is long, cold and very lonely… And I’d never wish that fate on my worst enemy.”

“Do you really believe that?” Rush asked.

I nodded in return. “Of course I do. If I didn’t think I couldn’t be of some help for you Rush, then I wouldn’t have offered you anything.” As Rush looked down at his hands, seemingly deep in thought I decided it was best to ask one final question. “So will you join us or not?”

Author's Note

Good news everyone! We've hit our midseason finale here at Striker's Production House of Horrors! Better known to the public as my desk! Next week is the Interlude before break, and I'm bringing back an old face... Well, maybe four. Three of them were definitely dead last I checked. Don't worry, we'll get around to explaining that headache later on.

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Anyone got questions? Like what you're seeing so far? Hell, maybe have some gripes? There's a comment section and the Mirrorverse Codex. Read and comment away, because I want to hear from you fellow denizens of this corner of the internet. Until next time gang!
-Striker